Wednesday, April 23, 2008

After leaving Michigan because new strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis didn't provide hot coco, warm hugs and chocolates on his pillow at the end of each workout claiming the program's "family values have eroded" under recently-hired coach Rich Rodriguez, former Wolverine starting O-lineman Justin Boren has transferred to the University of Ohio State.

In announcing that he was going over to the dark side, Anakin Skywalker Boren said he was "looking forward to the chance to help the Buckeyes continue their excellence in any way I can."

Of course, Boren has already contributed to that his first two years at Michigan helping Michigan lose both those contests to the Bucks.

College football historians claim the move is unprecedented, saying this is the first time since World War II that they can recall a high-profile player selling his soul to the devil transferring from Michigan to Ohio State.

The move is even more amazing considering Boren's father Mike played for legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. Visitors to Schembechler's gravesite noted a small shift in the earth when the transfer announcement was made.

Under Big Ten rules, Judas Justin Boren must pay his own way for the rest of his career at Ohio State and will not be able to receive an athletic scholarship from the school. (INSERT BUCKEYE BOOSTER JOKE HERE)

Not surprisingly, the most excited person about the transfer outside the state of Ohio was Detroit Free Press writer Drew Sharp. Sources tell the MZone he wept, wet himself then ran fully erect to his computer in order to hurriedly write his 1,684th column trashing the University of Michigan, former coach Lloyd Carr, the city of Ann Arbor and anything blue.

81 comments:

I hope that when h is eligible again to play and they play MI RR sends some third stringer in there to go directly for his kneecaps. What a complete douche. If that was my child he would be banned from the family. Fatherly love be damned.

On College Football Live last night, there was a spot on the new WVU program. Lots of interviews with players and new staff was aired.

Every interviewee took a shot at RR. It was pretty clear what ESPN was trying to do. Players talked about how there was less cussing, players could play ball, players can now make mistakes, players can have fun for a change, and so on.

WVUs new head coach ranted endlessly about he's not going to micromanage the staff, how he's going to let coaches actually coach for a change.

Now, I've said all winter and spring that I have no opinion yet about RR -- he hasn't coached a down of football for Michigan yet. But after watching that hatchet job all I can say is, "wow".

Finally, regardless of what one thinks about RR, didn't he leave the WVU program better than he found it?

I know you guys have to support your coach and everything, but I can't believe the way you kick your own players who walk out the door. Everyone was wetting themselves when Mallett chose to come to Michigan. Now I've seen plenty of posts how Mallett was not a real "michigan man" if he would quit the team. Why? Because he's a slow QB with a cannon for an arm that doesn't fit RR's scheme?

Then Boren leaves and your best returning OL morphs into a fat, lazy, spineless, quitter. I guess its OK for your head coach to walk out the door whenever he feels like it, but shame on the players who do the same. Its funny how this post can slam WVU fans for acting like a bitter ex over RR leaving and then attack Boren and Mallett without ever seeing the hypocracy. Maybe Manningham should have shared a little of his crop with all you haters.

But hey, all the Judas talk is spot on. Finally Buckeye Nation has its answer to Desmond Howard.

i think the reason we were hard on mallet was that he was given ample opportunity to stay, RR said he talked to him on three separate occasions and he still walked out on his team. RR said that he would play that he has a place for him in this new offense. we were mad that he just never gave it a chance...

tUOS fans- NO. This is not about trashing players who didn't want to be here after we gushed about their arrivals. This is about one simple phrase, "Those who stay will be champions.". That says it all.

This is about one petulant child who was so spiteful in his immature, not wanting to face the harsh and disciplined realities of life and college football that he would rather raise his middle finger and sell out all the way, than put in the effort to better himself and assume a leadership position as the captain of the O-line.

He could have gone to a number of great schools and even gotten scholarships, but this is about spite. He chose tOUS for more than being closer to home. That didn't matter when he chose Mich... it was about love then, and this is about hate now. He chose to sell his adopted family down the river, and we will excommunicate him in return. The only thing that comes to mind at this point is 'Ephialtes'. He sold the path to the evil Persian Empire, the enemy of freedom, because he was discontented, knew nothing of leadership or loyalty, and wanted the money. Now he will be in history books forever as a traitor remembered.

I can't believe that he could ever want that. Judging by his father's comments in support of his son, I could understand how he could be an angry, confused, petulant child. He has a lot of growing up to do and his parents need to stop babying their 300+ lb. son. It's time to be a real man and man the fuck up.

I can't believe that you would want our confused garbage. If I were making the decisions I wouldn't want Beanie or Larengitis if they were discontented and wanted to come to Mich. I would leak it to the reporters so as to have a good laugh at tUOS though. My idealism would say that these are confused, selfish individuals who cannot love a team, but only themselves and would be more of a disruption than a positive contributor. They are out for spite and themselves and that is not what being a Michigan Man is all about. If you were to come here I would need to see that being a Michigan Man is your number one priority. "Those who stay will be champions."

BTW, Bo left for Miami of OH, his alma mater, before coming to Michigan... genius. He was also the originator of the quotation at the top and just above. Good luck growing up sometime Ephialtes.

I believe the 5.4 earthquake last week may have been when Bo was rolling over.

BTW, do you really think that tOSU conditioning program is not strenuous? If you think Boren with a year+ of working out will be a tub of goo, you are blind to reality. He was good for you guys, he'll be good for us also.

"BTW, Bo left for Miami of OH, his alma mater, before coming to Michigan... genius. He was also the originator of the quotation at the top and just above."

Still doesn't cut it. It's Michigan vs. Ohio State. "The Rivalry." No excuses. It is what it is. Bo jumped our program and ended up at yours. I don't care if he stopped at Luby's for a year and ate Jello. He still ended up at Michigan. That's why all this posturing and spiteful stuff is funny.

Not saying ol' Bo wasn't the consummate Michigan Man. He was. Even I loved the guy. However, history is meant to be studied; not revised.

Be pissed at Boren. I don't blame you. Just don't lose your mind over it.

Few questions for you... how can you say that Mallett doesn't fit into RR's system when he didn't even give it a chance? Who are the QBs right now for UM... Some slightly more mobile guys with not-so-much a cannon for an arm. I'm betting if Mallett stayed with the system, he could have adapted to the system.

Secondly... RR did not bolt WVU for Pitt... which would be the equivalent of what Boren did. Also, it was Boren who decided to go after the program by saying that the "family values eroded"... if he left quietly, there wouldn't be so much of an uproar. To go to your rival though, that's like taking a guy from behind without the courtesy of a reach around!

I would have had no problem with him if he left the program. But, he left with a jab at the school both he and his father played for. Douche-like, but not unforgiveable. Now, enrolling at the University of Ohio State is a whole different ball of wax. That is a statement move, and deserving af all criticism the kid gets. There is no rational explanation(academics, programs, etc) that he can offer for this travesty unless he says he never cared for UM.A great man(name escapes me at the moment) once said:

lets all take a moment and thank Justin. this would be a very dull April w/out his foolish behavior to mock.

m93,i'm not surprised by any of the wvu coaches/players statements. what were they going to say? we really miss the old coach?

the AA News carried a couple of articles in Feb/March about the WVU players who were going to the draft coming to A2 to train here. they were all extremely positive about their experience w/ R2 & Co. i'd take more from their statements than i would anyone currently playing for the new coach.

as for michigan fans "trashing" transfers, i don't think mallett or boren are typical. we've had guys leave over the years. most simply go away w/out much ado (ryan mundy?) and nothing much is said.

mallett and boren both shot their mouths off, made negative statements, and blamed others for their decisions. i don't many are criticizing their leaving. i think most are criticizing their bad mouthing the school.

wt/sru-

Boren, son of player for coach that bolted the Buckeyes for the Wolverines bolts the coach that bolted from WVU for Buckeyes, while the coach that bolted the Buckeyes for the Wolverines Rolls over in Grave.

Boren, son of player for coach that bolted the Buckeyes for the Wolverines bolts the coach the that bolted from WVU for Buckeyes, while the coach that bolted the Buckeyes for the Wolverines Rolls over in Grave.

or is that just a tad much?"

Is what a tad much? I think the whole thing is entertaining as hell because of the fine thread of history that runs through it.

You've got a lot of bolts going on there. I think you're missing some nuts.

"since bobby bowden had his 42-26 run in the 70's to Rich's arrival in 2001, WVU went 166-214, a 43.7% avg. thus making rich the reviver of the mountaineer football"

You actually just completely made this number up didn't you??? You got the win total right, but we only had 120 losses. Still not outstanding, but you gave us an additional nine full seasons worth of losses.

I do agree with your main point though that RR left WVU better than when he got there, but Don Nehlen did have a few good seasons in there and played for one National Championship which we of course lost.

Amazingly, I agree with SIC for once that of course our current players and coaches are going to rave about the new system. We'll see if it has similar success. As far as the former players going to AA to train, I think that has to do more with Barwis and his program, which all of the players love, and is the best assistant you got out of the whole deal.

IMO Boren stated why he left because everyone was saying that he left because he couldn't take the Barwis program. is it a jab if it's truly why he left?

as far as mallett - he wanted to play in the NFL. why should he have to adapt to an offense that no one in the NFL runs, under a coach that has Shawn King as his only legacy? he signed up for a turn at Michigan because they are, uhhhh, were, known as a school that develops NFL quarterbacks. that changed and he should be allowed to change as well. Threet did it for the EXACT same reasons - i don't see anyone trashing him.

one thing is certain though - you'll never see JT or Matta or most coaches use the immature "I only talk about players that play for my school" BS that coachriguez uses. Both JT and Matta both recently had players transfer because of playing time and both were effusive in their well wishes for the departing players. same with JT about Gholston - contrast that with coachriguez playing the "arrington and manningham are dead to me" card.

SouthCarolinaBuckeye - don't be a douche. I was born and raised in SC, so please don't embarrass my state with shit posts like that. Tell your mom to read to you more and show you love and maybe life will work out for you.

when boren left, R2's presser was very polite, announcing he left and declining to give specifics. after boren shot off his mouth, R2 was approached by the press and he responded w/ the "i only talk about..." line.

anyone ought to be able to see the analogy to sweaterboy saying nothing negative about a player who says nothing negative is wholly inapplicable to R2's circumstance. cheaty pants' responses to clarett's statements would be a better example, and his answers while classically tresselesquely vague, were neither warm nor glowing.

as for mallett, R2 was asked repeatedly why he didn't do more to keep the kid. he explained how he had tried. mallett's folks said their own version. a number of posters said "good riddance" but not much has been made of it since. in fact, tosu posters seem to be the only ones who continue to raise the event.

threet was roundly thrashed by tech fans on tech boards.

finally, the week before he quit, Boren was extensively quoted talking about the rigors of the conditioning program. most every press/media/blog outlet, not Michigan one, but all types, laughed at his family values excuse.

rrod's used the 'i only talk about' line numerous times now - you cleverly ignored how he used it regarding manningham and arrington.

fwiw there's a poll on cnnsi regarding boren's family values comment - the choices 1. cause for concern or 2. sour grapes by boren. more than 60% thus far have picked #1 - i'm sure in your eyes, osu fans across the country have rallied to vote.

also fwiw, do you really think Mike Boren would let his kid transfer to OSU soley because the practices/conditioning were too hard?....

It is still mind-blowing to me how OSU fans can sit in front of their computer and think of nothing better to do then log on, search for, and enter a Michigan blog to post "Michigan sucks". That was some hilarious, rolling-on-the-floor stuff there. And just incase what you were trying to say could have confused someone other than yourself, you provided 6 other ways to get your message across. Truly genious. You should tell all your friends about how funny your post was, because you're a comedic-genius.

Regarding Boren,

I think this move should draw the attention of Michigan's athletic program policies.

This past season, one of Notre Dame's backup QB's to Brady Quinn (name?) in 2006 was looking to transfer after Weiss said Clausen would be the starter for 2007. He wasn't able to go to his first choice school because ND had a policy in place that no player can transfer to a school that ND plays in the next 2 seasons, so he settled with Norther Illinois.

When Bobby Petrino took the job at Arkansas, a RB who he coached at Louisville requested a transfer from UL to Arkansas because he was fond of the coach. Louisville stepped up and denied his transfer for their own reasons, which I appreciated, because it was their way of saying "You can leave if you want, but that heartless, lying piece of crap won't be recieving any of our talent."

I know players transferring from Michigan has never been a problem in the past, and has only been a big topic this year because of the coaching changes, but to see a Wolverine go to the Scarlett and Gray is like putting olives on a sandwich. It could have been something great, but now it's complete shit. Maybe steps should be taken to prevent crap like this from upsetting Michigan fans in the future.

"It is still mind-blowing to me how OSU fans can sit in front of their computer and think of nothing better to do then log on, search for, and enter a Michigan blog to post 'Michigan sucks' "

do you actually think that there have never been Michigan fans doing basically the same thing to OSU blogs/forums...or are you just trying to make a point that you know is basically meaningless (because this sort of thing happens with all fan bases)?

michigan fans should stop and assess what a great compliment this renewed, angst ridden string of tosu comments really is.

there is NOTHING tosu nation hates more than anything than the national press talking about michigan. it hits at the very heart of their envy riddled souls. and R2 is newsworthy.

R2 has been on espn more in 4 months than lloyd in 13 years. he's glib, funny, articulate, and has "presence" in front of the camera. his w-l @ wvu is impressive, his recruiting already successful, and he is a season or two away from being a "star" coach.

even his negative stories support this image. wvu wants $4 mil to replace him! must be a helluva coach to cause that much ado by leaving? boren leaves because practices are too tough? or because R2 is not like family values Lloyd? terrific! Mallett leaves because the Offense that stars like Dennis Dixon, VInce Young, or Pat White run is too much for him to run? great. nothing says "there's a new sheriff" like players leaving.

R2's not coached a down but he's already a "rockstar", press magnet, and expected by most to take the program out of its 3-4 loss rut and put it back in the fore front of the conference & bcs. no wonder tosu fans hate him so much.

he's everything they fear. let them rant, tell us how classy tre$$el is, and how great they are. the louder they say it, the more clear the self doubt is to hear.

what was R2 supposed to say about manningham or arrington? i wasn't trying to be clever but those are two guys he barely met and never coached. maybe it's a trite answer but at least it's honest.

i know you think sweaterboy is classy because he speaks in platitudes and empty cliches', but that doesn't make him honest or classy. it makes him a good candidate to be a whitehouse spokesman, but not much else.

1. rrod is as articulate as one could be being born and raised in WV - other than that - he's far from it.

2. are you kidding? i LOVE hearing the national media talk about how bad Michigan's gonna be this year! LOVE IT. 4 losses, 5 losses, 6 losses, i've heard it all. what i actually hated more was hearing year after year about how great michigan was going to be - top 3 preseason, top 5, top 10, etc. of course we all knew they wouldn't end up ranked that high, what with the yearly 2-3 losses, but i still hated hearing positive things. so to hear what we're hearing now is genuinely refreshing and i'll continue to love it as rrod realizes the big ten is not the big east.

Is it really hard to believe that Boren wanted to play with someone who didn't curse and act like a jerk to the kids? Reports from Pat White and Co. say that they are now happy to be playing for someone who doesn't yell at them and make them feel terrible when they make mistakes. Is it really hard to believe that Rodriguez is too hard on his players and some don't like that style? Jim Tressel, safe to say, has a completely different style than RRod. Not to say they both don't work... but maybe certain players want to play under different kinds of programs.

It is annoying to come here and see so many tOSU posters trashing Michigan, afterall, this IS a Michigan blog! The south carolina guy, really, that is the best you got? As if we haven't heard THAT before.....go play with your Tonka trucks.

"1. rrod is as articulate as one could be being born and raised in WV - other than that - he's far from it."

P-U. The stench of hypocrisy is overwhelming.

Seriously, do you serve any purpose on this MICHIGAN board other than to be a complete and total douchebag? What are you hoping to get out of this? For some Michigan fan to say "Oh, sru's right, we suck. Thanks sru!"? Your only purpose is to antagonize Michigan fans on a Michigan forum and act as the proverbial nugget of sh!t that refuses to be flushed.

Isn't there some "Muck Fichigan" or "Mgoblow" forum you can infest instead of this one?

actually I was sorry that it was you who had provided an outlet for my comedic genius (?) since I am quite sure that you own at least two sets of cutlery--one for everyday and one that goes with her china?

but, I fell prey to all of the Michigan 'love' going around and just had to hit that sweet one right outta da park.Particularly after Catie's tonka truck gem. (+1 to the girl)

ESPN trashed RR because ESPN is all about trashing the B10. Get used to it.

I wouldn't want to play for RR, but that's just me. The guy will produce. I also think he will be a great target for tOSU fans (my verbal donut cannon is loaded) because of his style. Gen. Patton would have loved RR.

Wow, lot of anger came out since I made my last post. Just some things to follow up since Dezzi left me some questions ...

"Few questions for you... how can you say that Mallett doesn't fit into RR's system when he didn't even give it a chance? Who are the QBs right now for UM... Some slightly more mobile guys with not-so-much a cannon for an arm. I'm betting if Mallett stayed with the system, he could have adapted to the system."

Fair enough. Obliviously the guy has plans to make it in the NFL and even if he could have fit into RR's system and made it work, he probably wouldn't be as far ahead in his plans than if he played in a more traditional offense, like Lloyd ran. But regardless of that, when you think of the spread option you think of speedy guys like Vince Young, Pat White, and Dennis Dixon who are more (or equal) of a threat with their legs than their arms. I think I'm stating the obvious there, but I won't argue that he couldn't adapt and have made it work, but I would bet the under on that one. He made a tough decision and had to do what's best for him, and possibly what might end up being what's best for Michigan. I know there was rumors flying that Terrell Pryor was set to go to UM if Mallett transferred, but that ended up just being more of the usual TP rumor mill.

"Secondly... RR did not bolt WVU for Pitt... which would be the equivalent of what Boren did. Also, it was Boren who decided to go after the program by saying that the "family values eroded"... if he left quietly, there wouldn't be so much of an uproar. To go to your rival though, that's like taking a guy from behind without the courtesy of a reach around!"

Agreed on all accounts there. Courtesy is crucial in those situations. I would only argue the fact that he grew up 20 minutes from Ohio State and even has former HS teammates (or at least one that I can think of) already on the team. I'd also like to point out that this isn't the only message board where posters were reeling against the guy and calling him all types of names before he ever decided OSU was his next stop.

And finally, when did Desmond Howard ever go to Ohio State??

Short answer: he didn't. But unlike the hoards of other people born and raised in Ohio who then went to Michigan, this guy seems to take some kind of perverse pleasure in getting under our skin. I'm sure it was just coincidence that his most infamous play just happened to come after torching OSU for a long TD. I'll never ever forget the day he and Nick Leche (who was also born and raised in Ohio) stood atop Ohio Stadium and burst into the Michigan fight song live on ESPN's College Game Day before the OSU-UM game. CLEARLY an attempt to rile up OSU fans, and it worked to perfection. So if Boren's actions are in any way an attempt to get under the skin of the Michigan faithful, I'm all for it.

You seem like a classy man, but you are missing a few things. Justin "fucking" Boren's was on Michigan's team! His father played for Bo. Even you have to admit that that is wrong.

As for Manningham and Mallett, there was plenty of complaining about the two on Michigan sites before they left. Mallett was criticized more for being a prick on account of his bad attitude and several run-ins with other students at Michigan. I think that people have come to accept his decision; he just wasn't liked. Manningham underperformed as a result of his laziness. Remember his dropped passes during the OSU game this year? People were rather relieved to see him go. Besides, do you see anyone kicking Arrington on the way out?

Desmond Howard never committed to OSU. He is just one of many players from Ohio who played at UM. Your answer would be more like Vernon Gholston or maybe Craig Krenzel.

I am psyched about Newsome. A pass-first QB with good feet. He is big: 6-3, 210 lbs. And he is a good kid: 3.7 gpa and hopes to be a business major at Ross. He could be a great face for the Michigan program.

I think this offseason has given the rivalry a nice kick in the ass. I somewhat now know what tOSU fans went through in the Cooper era... where it didn't seem like much of a rivalry because when you always get beat, you become defensive...

This offseason... with the TP recruiting parade... and now with Boren going from playing at UM and transferring to tOSU... adds even more!

Look how heated some people are on this blog and it's only going on May! Lots of unknowns coming into this season for us all... I'm excited.

Hope to see more posting from you!

WV: dacco

It's taunting me on "French Friday" as it is close to "d'accord" which, for those non-French speakers is "ok"

Are Michigan fans seriously insinuating that another school's boosters are paying off players? Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle out on NCAA violations. Rich is totally sharting the bed this year (check the record for his first season at WVU, enjoy your gimmick of a coach). Oh well, I guess you guys always have basketball... never mind. Michigan should seriously consider jacking some more WVU coaches.

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